Untitled, as of yet
by TheYellingPlace
Summary: Wacky idea: Tara's now a toddler.
1. Default Chapter

Disclamer: Not.Mine. AN: I need a name for this piece of crap known as a fanfic. And I know the idea of this is neither original nor interesting, but when you roleplay as much as I do, you get alot of ideas that just don't go anywhere. I'm only posting the first part now, 'cause I wanna see how it goes over. It it's overall good, I'll post more. And I'd be totally greatful if someone would suggest a name for this :) AN2: I'd also like to thank my friends Erin, Pillow, and Lauren (aka Spikedgirl) for giving my the inspiration to write, whether this thing is a flop or not. So on with my story. AN3: this could take place just about anywhere during season 5 or season 6 up to Once More with Feeling...so I'd say vcery early season 6. also flames will be used to keep myself warm, constructive criticism (lovely oxymoron there) is more than welcome.  
  
Willow woke up early one particular Saturday morning to find that Tara had already gotten out of bed and presumably gone downstairs. She glanced at the clock, which read 7:30, and groaned. Tara wasn't usually a morning person, so why pick today of all days to start? Willow shrugged, and walked downstairs and towards the kitchen. However, she altered her plans and entered the living room upon hearing the television. What Willow saw as she entered was a little girl, couldn't be more than two years old, sitting on the sofa watching the morning cartoons.  
  
As Willow walked in, the girl turned from the television to face her, and smiled shyly. It was obvious to anyone who had been in the Summers' house recently that the little girl was Tara as a toddler.  
"Tara...?" Willow asked after a beat. Tara nodded, prefering not to speak to the older girl yet. 'Where's Mommy?' she asked herself silently.  
  
"Sweetie, do you remember me?" Willow asked, not sure if Tara was actually toddler-Tara, or just Tara in a toddler's body. Tara shook her head, and asked quietly,  
"Where's Mommy?" Willow frowned. First off, her girlfriend was now a baby, and second, she was asking for her mother, who had been dead for a few years. What was she supposed to do? It was maybe a quarter of eight in the morning. Who in their right mind would....Giles. Giles would preparing to open the Magic Box for the day.  
  
Willow looked at what Tara was wearing: a long pink nightgown that strangely had shrunken to fit her as a toddler. Knowing that Tara didn't have any other clothing that would currently fit her, Willow would have to take the girl out the way she was. Depending on how fixable the current situation was, she might need to go out with Buffy or Dawn to find Tara some decent clothing to wear.  
"Tara? Sweetie are you hungry?" Willow asked. "Would you like to go out and get some breakfast?" Tara shook her head and absently stuck her thumb in her mouth, before mumbling  
"Mommy?"  
  
Willow looked at the girl sadly, but didn't tell her the truth. She picked the small girl up and carried her upstairs, so that she could change out of her own pajamas quickly and they could be on their way. Due to Tara's quietness, she knew that waking up the Summers girls wasn't at all an issue.  
  
After getting herself ready, she braided Tara's hair into two braids, before picking her up and walking to the Magic Box. It wasn't a long walk, and it was warm and sunny outside. To Willow, the weather was just perfect. Tara apparently agreed, for she laid her head on the redhead's shoulder. Willow thought that the gesture was adorable, but she really wanted her girlfriend back.  
  
After a few minutes of walking, the girls stood outside the Magic Box. Hoping that Giles was there already, Willow freed one arm from holding Tara and tried the door. Upon finding it open, she walked in to find Giles sitting at the table, taking some quick, last minute inventory.  
"Hi Giles," Willow said, hoping that Giles would look up and save her half an explination as to why she was there so early in the morning. As if he had read her thoughts, Giles looked up and, on seeing the toddler in her arms, quiestioned her.  
  
"Willow, good morning...ah...who is this, who you've brought here at..." he glanced up at the clock. "...eight o'clock in the morning?" Willow had to keep herself from grinning but sat the tot on the table, facing Giles.  
"This is Tara" she stated. Giles gave her a look before looking closer at the little girl. He nodded.  
"Yes...she seems to have all of Tara's facial features..." he held out his hand to Tara, to see what reaction she would have. Tara scooted herself backwards, and hopefully out of the reach of the scary man. After she was a safe distance away, she turned to Willow and held her arms out, and was picked up.  
  
"So she doesn't recognise me, but she remembers you,"Giles said as he watched Willow pick up the tot. Willow shook her head.  
"Nope. I asked her that this morning. I was just the first person she saw, I guess, and she knows I won't hurt her...all she wants is her mother..." she trailed off. "I don't know why she trusts me and not you though." Willow shrugged, and continued. "But I was hoping that you could help me figure out what's causing this." Giles nodded.  
  
"I'll do what I can..." the phone rang., and seeing as how Giles had books and papers scattered about, Willow handed Tara to him and ran to get the phone. Tara, who didn't like being with the strange man, stared wailing almost immediately. Willow shot Giles an apologetic look before answering the phone.  
"Hello, Magic Bo.....oh, hi Anya...no no, I'm just visiting for a few...ok, hold on..." she turned to Giles. "Anya wants to tell you that she's coming in early today," she informed him.  
" Yes, well, tell her that she won't be paid for overtime," he told her over Tara's crying. Willow turned back to the phone.  
  
"Anya? yeah, he said ok, but you're not...yeah...what? no thats...thats....well you'll see when you get here," she told Anya. Why explain Tara's condition over the phone when the visual would be so much easier and require much less talkiung? After hanging up, she walked back to Giles and took Tara into her arms.  
"Shh, it's okay, baby. Nothing is going to hurt you," she soothed, running her free hand over Tara's head. As she did this, Tara stopped crying and held on to Willow. Giles smiled sadly, and time seemed to freeze for a few moments. Shortly thereafter, Anya appeared, Xander in tow.  
  
"Who's the kid?" Xander asked, as Anya oened her mouth and asked whose kid it was.  
"I'ts Tara. Call Buffy and Dawn, we may as well only explain this once more." Giles explained, knowing full well that Willow would not enjoy explaining as much as she could about Tara multipe times.  
  
15 minutes and a phone call later, Buffy and Dawn rushed in the door, knowing only that there was a parentless child among the other scoobies. When Buffy had pushed for details, she was just told to bring Dawn and be at the Magic Box as soon as possible.  
"So what's this deal?" Buffy asked, staring at Tara. "So there's a kid with no parents. We take her to the police, who find her parents...I don't see anything demonic involved with this," she stated, clearly not realizing who the toddler was.  
  
"Mommy?!" Tara perked up, eyes wide. Willow, and the others who recognised it was Tara, felt sad about the little girl not knowing about her mother's death.  
"Baby...mommy isn't here now. But I'm a friend, and I'm going to take care of you, okay?: Willow asked., hoping Tara wouldn't cry. Instead, she just nodded, accepting the fact that she would be taken care of by someone who appeared to like her. Willow turned to Buffy and explained Tara's situation, and gave the gang the rundown on the morning's activities so far that morning.  
  
"Awwww, she's so cute!" Dawn cooed as she held out her hand to Tara, hoping to play some sort of game. Tara, not liking total strangers invading her persongl bubble, screamed. Willow looked at the toddler sheepishly.  
"I guess I should've warned you; she doesn't seem to be much of a people person," she said, putting Tara on the ground. Tara waddled off to look at the place she was in, completely unaware of the fact that everyone was watching her like a hawk. She was awed by some of the items she saw. Some things looked alot like what her mom had back home, so she found it comforting. The red haired girl who was taking care of her must be like her own mother, Tara decided happily. She walked back to the group, still not noticing that everyone had their eyes on her.  
  
She looked up at Willow, and held her arms out.  
"Up?" she asked, frightened by all the people in the room. Willow smiled and picked the girl up, and poked her little nose. But Tara wanted to know what the nice girl's name was... so she pointed to herself.  
"Tawa." she said, hoping that Willow would understand. Willow, being herself, caught on, and pointed to herself, saying  
"Willow." Tara thought Willow was a nice name. Not that she knew many names to begin with, but Willow sounded pretty.  
"Wi-wow." she repeated, and got kissed on the forehead by Willow herself. Tara pointed to Buffy, Dawn, Anya, and Xander, learning and then repeating their names, with slight but adorable mispronounciations.. Then she pointed at Giles, aka "scary man", and waited for Willow to tell her his name.  
  
"That's Giles," she said, pronouncing Giles' name slowly so that the little girl could sound it out if need be. Instead she scrunched up her face in an "I-really-don't-know-how-to-say-that" kind of look. Xander took it upon himself to whisper in Tara's ear, so only she could hear,  
"You can just call him G. He won't mind." Tara giggled and pointed at Giles.  
"Gee!" she said seriously, not understanding why that others were sifling their giggles. Giles sent Xander a look, but smiled.  
  
Tara yawned.  
"Bored now." she said, and panicked from all the shocked looks she was given. Willow looked especially freaked out, but shrugged. After a moment, Giles said to Willow,  
"It will most likely take a while to figure out what caused this, and it may be in your best interest to find her some clothing that she can wear outside of the house."  
  
Willow agreed.  
"Yeah. Dawn? Buffy? you guys wanna come with?" she asked. Dawn perked up immediately.  
"Oh my god," she said excitedly. "we can get her the cutest outfits! Count me in!" Buffy, however, declined, saying that seeing a fellow scooby as a toddler was too weird for her.  
  
Half an hour later, Willow, Dawn, and Tara were in one of the clothing stores located at the Sunnydale Mall, finding clothing for Tara....and possibly themselves also.  
"What do you think of this?" Dawn asked, holding up a white peasant- like bouse and what looked like (but most likely wasn't) leather pants. Willow cringed.  
  
"I don't think Tara would go for that, Dawnie," she said, putting Tara down. "Huh sweetie?" Tara gave a face that told both girls she didn't like the outfit. Willow picked up a pair of cotton flared pants and a cute tee, showing them to Dawn. "What do you think? after all, you are the fashion expert here," she teased. Dawn, who was looking at another rack of clothing, looked up and gave Willow the thumbs up.  
  
When Willow looked to Tara for approval, Tara mimicked Dawn and gave the thumbs up, smiling. Willow stuck the outfit into the carriage. They didn't think they'd need it, but got it just in case, because it was more than likely that either she or Dawn would pick up clothing also.  
  
"I think we should get her a dress and a skirt, a few shirts, and some shoes. Oh, and a pair of jeans or two." Dawn decided, and Willow agreed. After a minute, Dawn held up to pairs of flared jeans - a normal pair, and a pair with butterflies on the side. She walked over to Tara, who was back in Willow's arms, and showed her.  
"You like?" she asked and Tara nodded and clapped her hands happily.  
  
"Dwess?" she asked happily. Dawn grinned at ran off to look at dresses. Willow and Tara followed. While looking at dresses, Willow found a cute sailor dress that she thought would look cute on Tara. When shown the dress, Tara actually stuck her tongue out at Willow, and so the dress was put back. Dawn came back a bit later, carrying a demin dress with a picture of Winnie the Pooh on the front. Tara loved the Pooh, but refused to take the dress.  
  
She looked for a dress she liked and a few minutes pointed to a specific dress. Willow and Dawn turned to look at it. It was a white dress, about knee length, with a white satin bow that went around the waist and tied in the back. The skirt was almost flowy, and it zipped up the back. Dawn and Willow shared a look, and the dress was added to the cart.  
  
"Now we need a couple of shirts and the shoes," Willow reiterated. A few minutes later, They had added to the cart a sea gressn peasant top, pink tank top, and a lilac colored tee. The had also accumulated a pair of sneakers and somewhat dressy shoes to go with her dress, and numerous items for themselves. They paid for the clothing, thankful that they had grabbed the carriage, and headed out. As they passed the toy store, Willow decided that for being such a good, cooperative girl, they should get Tara a toy to play with.  
  
"Tara, you wanna go get a toy?" she asked the girl, knowing that it would be a yes anyhow.  
"YEAH!!!!!" she screamed loudly. Willow and Dawn were surprised; no one knew that Tara, as a tot, could speak so loudly. She wriggled in Willow's arms and was reluctantly put down, after being told to hold either Willow or Dawn's hand at all times.  
  
Their first stop at the toy store was at the barbies. Tara looked unimpressed, so Dawn turned to her and asked,  
"Tara, what would you like?" Tara smiled happily and replied  
"Pony!" Dawn was confused....how could they get the kid a pony? She knew that every little girl wanted pony at some times, but rarely did the child get one.  
"uhh....pony?" she paled. Willow just laughed at her, and steered them towards the stuffed animals, where Tara actually picked out a soft, multi-colored unicorn. Dawn had the "do'h" look on her face, wondering why she hadn't thought of stuffed animals.  
  
The trip home was uneventful, the highlight being Tara falling asleep and rooling a bit on Willow's shoulder. They got to the magic box around noon, eager to find out what the others had found out. All Giles had found was that it was a spell meant for the slayer that had somehow accidentally zapped Tara instead. The good news was that it was harmless if she was kept away from demons and such, and it would wear off on its own. The bad news, was that the books didn't say how long it would take for the spell to wear off.  
  
Having nowhere else to put the sleeping toddler, Willow put her down in the training room, after being assured multiple tims by Buffy that she wouldn't need the room anytime soon. Finding herself sleepy, she curled herself around her girlfriend-turned-baby on one of the mats and slowly drifted off to sleep......  
  
TBC.......? 


	2. 2

Hey guys, sorry bout the delay. I've been pretty busy with my choral concerts and school, and I had PLANNED to post this over the weekend, but I got 2 and a half feet of snow dumped on me and lost electricity.so I just got around to it now. Thanks to everyone who reviewed, it means a lot to me. ~*~Tara~*~  
  
Willow (and, unfortunately, Tara) was woken up about an hour later by noise coming from the main room of the Magic Box. Tara thankfully didn't cry, or scream, or make any type of noise whatsoever. It was obvious though, from the look on her face, that she was not at all a happy little girl. Willow, noticing this, smiled and picked her up, carrying her into the front room.  
  
The noise that they heard in the training room, it turned out, was Giles and Anya having some argument, and Xander and Buffy occasionally put in their two cents. Willow looked at Dawn, who was obviously trying her best to ignore the four adults.  
"What's going on?" Willow asked Dawn quietly, so that the others wouldn't hear.  
"They're trying to figure out exactly what caused that to happen to Tara and not Buffy...or if the spell was originally intended for her in the first place. They're all stubborn and have their own ideas, and Buffy thinks it's always got to be about her." Dawn replied, a sarcastic tone in her voice.  
  
Willow nodded. "Why don't we take Tara to the park...I would let you babysit so I could help research, but you know how she acted LAST time you went near her...not that I don't trust you or anything, it's just, she doesn't seem to like anyone who isn't me and I don't know why but she does and..." she trailed off, shrugging.  
  
Dawn laughed at Willow's mini babble. "I know, we should. But we're gonna need to get her into something that isn't her pajamas.... Where did you put the clothing? 'Cause I know the exact outfit I want her to wear."  
"Oh.... I think I put 'em in the training room...." Willow mumbled as Dawn took off, coming back seconds later with the normal jeans and the lilac tee. How the fighting scoobies didn't notice the three girls, they had no idea. They were on the other side of the room anyway, so that might factor in. Dawn took Tara back into the back room and changed Tara, since Willow felt that she couldn't handle doing that to her girlfriend.  
  
Soon they were ready and, after telling the other scoobies where they were going, Willow, Dawn, and little Tara were on their way to the park. They took with them the small amount of clothing they had bought for Tara, intending to stop by the house at some point while they were out. Willow wanted to make sure that that the clothing wasn't forgotten or left behind.if all Tara had was the pajamas and the outfit she was in.it wouldn't be easy keeping her clean.  
  
Tara wandered around the playground, babbling quietly to herself. It was relatively empty, with a few other tots playing on the structure with their mothers or siblings, and a bunch of highschool boys playing football. Tara, not familiar with the playground, took her time and got to know it and decide what to do. She had gotten herself down a slide, when Willow ran over to her and picked her up.  
  
"Sweetie, I need to go get us some lunch. are you hungry?" at Tara's nod, Willow asked what the little girl wanted to eat.  
"Pizza?" Tara asked. Willow mentally kicked herself. What else did small children want to eat? She nodded, setting Tara down.  
"You wanna go get food now?" she asked the tot. Tara shook her head.  
"Stay here!" she told Willow.  
  
Willow thought for a moment. If Tara wanted to stay, she could let Dawn watch her. It was only a question of Tara allowing Willow to go away like that, which worried Willow.  
"Tara.I'll go get lunch if you want, but you have to stay with Dawnie. Do you think you can do that?" she asked, turning the little toddler so they were staring each other in the eyes. Tara seemed to think a little before reluctantly nodding.  
  
"Dawn?" Willow called, and the teen ran over. "Tara's hungry, you want pizza?" When Dawn nodded, Willow smiled. Without warning, to see what Tara would do, the redhead placed Tara into Dawn's arms and watched as the little girl struggled for a minute, before deciding that she liked Dawn.  
  
"Hey, look! She likes me!" Dawn laughed as Tara sat in her arms. She thought it was kind of weird, how Tara was always the one to help her out when there was a problem, and she always took care of Dawn.but now the roles were reversed and Dawn was watching over Tara.  
  
"Tara, you be a good girl for Dawnie, and I'll be back as soon as possible," Willow said, kissing Tara's forehead. To Dawn, she said" Take care of her, and make sure she doesn't get hurt.but have fun!" She smiled and ran off, trying to get to the pizza place and back as soon as humanly possible.  
  
"So Tara.what do you wanna do?" Dawn asked, setting Tara on the ground. Tara grabbed on to Dawn's hand, and tugged her over to the swings. She wouldn't talk to Dawn, but at least she wasn't kicking her or crying or anything. Dawn placed her in the baby swing and pushed her gently.  
  
This was how Willow found the girls fifteen minutes later, when she arrived with food. It was so nice to see Tara getting along with someone who wasn't she, Willow thought.  
"Hey Dawnie, you two hungry?" she called, placing the pizza box on a nearby picnic table. Tara lifted her arms and Dawn carried her over to the table, and they sat down.  
  
After dishing out the pizza on paper plates she had picked up with the pizza, Willow realized that she hadn't thought to get any utensils with which to cut up Tara's food so she could eat it.  
"I should go back and grab forks and knives," Willow mumbled, getting up.  
  
"Willow, come on. It's a finger food, you're supposed to eat it with your hands," Dawn said, rolling her eyes. When Willow remarked that she needed to cut up the pizza for Tara, Dawn just told her to let the girl eat it the way Americans were supposed to, no matter how young. Reluctantly, Willow agreed. It made sense, though, because she really didn't want to leave Tara again. It wasn't that she didn't trust Dawn, she just didn't trust other people around her girlfriend-turned-toddler.  
  
Not ten minutes later, Willow was regretting listening to Dawnie's advice; Tara's face and parts of her shirt were covered in sauce and cheese from the pizza. This was way beyond napkin cleanup; the tiny tot needed a bath. Willow cringed when she realized she had to carry the little girl home, and did her best to wipe the stains off Tara's clothing and face. Needless to say, the napkins didn't really help.  
  
"Tara, honey, are you ready to go home now?" She asked, looking at the two-year-old. Dawn grinned and took care of the pizza box and plates and such. Tara smiled and nodded. As long as no one left her alone, she was happy to do whatever. She knew that Willow - and Dawn - wouldn't harm her.  
  
Willow picked her up, and the three girls began the walk home. Being Sunnydale, the walk wasn't long and the weather was warm, so it was rather pleasant. Willow just hoped that Tara didn't fall asleep, because then she'd have to wake her up, and she knew from experience that Tara was in no way a morning person.  
  
(TBC very soon; I just need to get back to school so I can grab my notebook..so sue me that I do all the writing in class..that's when I get my ideas. I might (most likely WILL) be on Wednesday night, seeing as how I have a concert tomorrow night and won't be able to post the next chapter..PLEASE REVIEW!!!) 


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